


There's No Wrong Way

by badwithusernames



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:47:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26035135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/badwithusernames/pseuds/badwithusernames
Summary: While Air Temple Island celebrates Ikki becoming a Master Airbender, Asami tells Mako something about Korra that she hasn't told anyone else.
Relationships: Korra/Asami Sato
Comments: 6
Kudos: 241





	There's No Wrong Way

Normally, Air Temple Island was a quiet and peaceful place around this time. Tonight, however, the courtyards were filled with music and dancing as the entire Air Nation had gathered to celebrate. Mako had not seen the temple this lively since Tenzin played host to President Moon’s wedding—and that was almost two years ago now.

He spent most of the evening trying to avoid letting Bolin pull him onto the dance floor. Mako much preferred just standing off to the side, observing. It made him smile to see his little brother dancing with Opal. He had never seen Bolin as happy as he was when he was with her.

In the center of the floor was Korra. With both hands she held onto Rohan, who still barely came up past her knees, and was twirling him around with airbending and the brightest smile on her face. It was not what Mako expected; in all the years they had known each other, Korra had never been one for dancing. But tonight was a special occasion: it was only the second time in a generation that the world had welcomed a new Airbending Master.

Ikki was having the time of her life, surrounded by all her friends as they admired her new tattoos. Even Jinora was there, beaming like the proud older sister that she was, playfully rubbing Ikki’s newly shaven head. This was her little sister’s night to shine, and Ikki had earned it.

Mako continued to scan the courtyard, and his eyes fell upon someone who, like him, was standing off on her own. Asami Sato leaned against a column underneath a string of lights, watching everyone—but mostly, Mako could tell, watching Korra… Even from a distance, he recognized that there was something on the young woman’s mind. He carefully walked around the edge of the dancefloor, avoiding Bolin, Opal and _especially_ Wu—he had lost track of the former King sometime early in the evening and fully expected him to pop out of a bush at some inexplicable time—as he made his way over to Asami. When a waiter passed him carrying a tray of drinks, he took two.

When she heard him approach, she looked over and smiled softly at him. “Hey, Mako.”

“Hey.” He handed her one of the drinks and she nodded in thanks. Then her eyes went straight back to her girlfriend as Korra whipped Rohan up into the air with a laugh and caught him as he lightly drifted back down. “He’s growing up too fast.”

“Yeah….”

The tone in Asami’s voice made Mako take notice. She glanced down at her empty hand as she flexed her fingers, looking at them like they were something foreign to her.

“What’s wrong? I recognize that look… that’s your, ‘I don’t know what to do next,’ look.”

“Oh, I have one of those?” she asked with a small chuckle.

“I’ve seen it a few times. Usually when you’re whipping up a new invention or you’re thinking about your next deal. But never for very long,” he admitted. “You always figure it out.”

“Do I…?”

“Asami… talk to me,” he said. “I hope you know you can tell me anything.”

She nodded. “Yeah, I do. It’s nothing bad, it’s just… _a lot_.”

“What is?”

Asami just stared back at Korra, resting her head against the pillar in thought. The longer she stared, the more her expression shifted—from quiet contemplation to a soft, adoring smile. She took a deep breath and said, “I’m going to ask Korra to marry me.”

Although he wasn’t sure what he had expected to hear, Mako knew it wasn’t that. Still, his first reaction was, “Really? That’s amazing!” And he meant it. The days of feeling awkward about his two exes dating one another were long in the past. He cared for both in his own way, and knew they cared about him, too. He had learned a lot about himself and about the world since he met Korra and Asami, including what it meant to truly love someone else, and all the different forms that could take. There wasn’t a shred of doubt in his mind: “She’ll say ‘yes’.”

“I hope so.”

“Who else have you told?”

“You’re the first.”

“What? A-Asami, I… wow, I’m—I don’t know what to say, except: I’m really, _really_ happy for you. Do you, I guess, have a plan or…? What am I saying, you probably have blueprints drawn up and locked away in your desk back at the office.” This made her laugh.

“You know, I have a few, actually. But the more I tried to plan it, the less any of it felt… _right_. I want it to be perfect and special and all the things I always hoped it would be when I was a kid. Except, look at us, Mako… even in my wildest dreams, I could never have imagined this would be my life,” she said, gesturing to the crowds of people in front of them. It had been five years since Harmonic Convergence brought back the Air Nation; two years since the fall of the Earth Empire. Although she lost her father—a part of herself that could never be replaced—she had also gained so much.

“I bet you’re still just glad you hit me with your moped that day,” Mako teased.

“Oh, I definitely still am. I don’t know what my life would be like now if I hadn’t... and I don’t want to.”

Korra had handed Rohan off to Pema and the two chatted as they carried him back up to the dormitories. “I love her,” Asami sighed. “It’s not just one moment, it’s all of them. Everything we’ve been through together. Maybe that’s why I can’t decide… nothing I come up with seems big enough. Nothing captures all that I want it to because nothing can. There’s too much I want to say.”

Mako listened intently, still watching Korra as she waved Pema and her son goodbye and turned back towards the party. She caught sight of Mako and Asami across the courtyard and her face lit up. Unlike Mako, Korra didn’t feel the need to tiptoe around the dancefloor; the Avatar was happy to cut straight through the crowd on her way over to them.

“If you want to know what I think,” said Mako, taking back Asami’s untouched glass as Korra drew closer, “it’s that no matter what you decide, it’ll be the right choice. Just the fact that you feel this way… I know Korra is going to just be focused on the fact that you asked. She'll love it.”

“Hey, you two!” Korra exclaimed. She and Asami both reached out a hand to the other at the same time, like it was second nature.

“Looks like you tired the kid out pretty good,” said Mako. “I bet Pema’s happy about that.”

“Definitely! He’s almost got more energy than Meelo did at that age. But what about you? I hope I wasn’t interrupting something.”

“Oh, Asami and I were just catching up.”

“Yeah, just talking about the old days,” said Asami, leaning down to kiss her girlfriend’s cheek. “So, have you had a chance to talk to Ikki yet?”

“Not as much as I’d like to,” Korra shrugged. “She’s been surrounded since the ceremony ended, I figured I would just say another quick congratulations before we head home. It’s not like I can’t talk to her any other time. Let her have tonight with all her friends, you know?”

“Does that mean you’re ready to go?”

“Only if you are,” she said with a lopsided grin.

Asami glanced back at Mako, who nodded in understanding. “I’m going to go check on Bolin, and make sure he hasn’t let Varrick rope him into another crazy stunt. You two have a good rest of your night.” He started off, but Asami called after him.

“Thank you, Mako,” she said. “For listening.”

“Anytime.” Her look of uncertainty was gone. He was right: it never was around for long. Asami Sato always figured it out eventually.

“Is everything okay?” he heard Korra ask as he left. “We really can go if you want.”

“I’m fine. Why don’t we… take a walk down to the dock? You never finished your story about how your meeting with Zhu Li and your cousins went, I want to hear the rest.”

“Oh, you do?” she laughed. “We might have to take a walk around the whole _island_ for that!”

“Well then, lead the way.”

Mako watched as two of his best friends walked off towards the docks, arms linked, simply happy to be together.


End file.
